


Compassion

by Yatzstar



Series: Peni and Noir [6]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Crying, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Noir has emotions, Noir is a good dad, Peni is a good daughter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 10:16:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18938914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatzstar/pseuds/Yatzstar
Summary: “Even the strongest and bravest must sometimes weep. It shows they have a great heart, one that can feel compassion for others.” --Brian Jacques, Redwall





	Compassion

The cool night wind whistled by Noir’s face, but he barely felt it as he passed like a flitting shadow above the darkened streets. His mind was far away and full of turmoil.

He had uncovered a gang of Nazis and raided their base, not expecting it to be anything beyond what he normally dealt with. However, upon finding them, he also found a young girl no older than ten. What they had done to her was anybody’s guess, because she was so battered she was barely recognizable as a person. The next few minutes after that discovery was a blur of red, anger having overtaken all his senses. After it was all over, he had gone to her, fully expecting her to be gone, but by some miracle she was alive, though barely just. He had taken her to the hospital as fast as he could, the nurses appalled by the sight of her not even pausing to consider the dark vigilante standing in front of them. He had left before anyone could question him, wanting nothing more than to go home. Whether the girl would make it or not was unknown.

He felt the stinging pressure of tears behind his eyes as he thought of the girl, and he blinked hard, forcing them back. He had not wept since Uncle Ben died, and he had seen far worse than the girl, but why did he feel like weeping?

He landed on the fire escape of his apartment, pulling of his hat and mask. With a shaky sigh, he opened the window and pushed the curtains aside, only to freeze. The turmoil of the night had caused him to forget that Peni was supposed to come over, and now she sat on his ratty couch, devoid of color but not of cheer as she sighted him.

Upon looking at her, Noir realized why he felt so emotional about the girl he had saved. She reminded him of Peni.

“Hi!” she started cheerfully. “How was—”

He could no longer restrain his emotions. A strangled cry left his mouth as he flew across the room, his knees crashing into the floor as he caught her in a desperate embrace.

Peni stood shocked into silence, confusion and concern welling within her. Slowly, she brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders. Though he made no sound, she could feel his shoulders shaking with silent cries.

They stayed that way for what felt like a small eternity, until Noir finally pulled away, wiping the tears from his face. His breath was still erratic, but the worst of it was over.

“You’re bleeding!” Peni gasped.

Noir looked down at himself, only just noticing the dark red encrusted onto his Kevlar and jacket, sticking out against the black and grey.

“It’s not mine,” he rasped, his voice thick with emotion.

“What happened?” she asked, her eyes wide and full of concern.

Noir swallowed in an attempt to rid himself of the lump in his throat, meeting her gaze. He hadn’t let out so much emotion in so long that he barely knew what to do with himself.

“Busted a bunch of Nazis,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be anything different, but…but they had a girl no older than you. They tore her up so bad that she barely looked human.”

Peni’s eyes grew even wider as her horror grew evident. “Was she alive?”

“Barely. I took her to the hospital as fast as I could. It’s up to the doctors now.”

“And the Nazis?”

“Gone,” he said, his tone carrying a note of finality.

Peni’s eyes drifted the pistol at his side, but she did not question his choices. She had never seen him cry before, and it was jarring, but she knew he had to at some point. He had emotions just like everyone else

“She reminded me of you.” Noir looked at her with joint sadness and affection. “I haven’t cried since Uncle Benjamin died years ago, and I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“It’s okay.” She took his hands in hers, squeezing them. “I’d do the same if I was in your position.”

He rubbed away the final traces of wetness on his eyes. “Crying accomplishes nothing here. That’s the way it’s always been.”

Peni frowned. She supposed she could expect nothing less from a world as harsh as his. “Even you should cry. It means you have compassion for others, no matter how hard you try to hide it. You have a big heart, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. That’s why you’re Spider-Man.”

He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling as though he might cry again. To be accepted so willingly, emotions and all in this hard-slate world was a rarity. To have compassion was a weakness many would try to prey on, but not her. Not his girl.

“Thank you, doll,” he murmured, pulling her into his arms again. “Thank you.”

 

As the girl regained consciousness, she became aware of the searing pain in every part of her body.

“She’s waking up!” a young voice said.

“It doesn’t matter,” a vaguely familiar rumble replied. “This is our only chance to get it done, so go ahead and do it.”

The girl opened her eyes, staring at the greyscale ceiling above her. A movement caught her eye, and she turned her head, though it was agony to do so. A strange-looking girl stood at her bedside, holding an equally strange device that looked something like a syringe. Everything about her being seemed to go against the laws of the world the girl was familiar with. Behind her, what the girl had first supposed as shadows moved, the light shifting to reveal the glint of goggles and the outline of a coat. She knew him immediately as her savior, the Spider-Man, and she wanted nothing more than to thank him.

“She’s trying to say something,” the strange girl said.

The Spider-Man moved to the bed, leaning towards the girl. “Take it easy, kid. What is it?”

The girl’s lips moved just barely, and from them came the ghosts of two words.

“Th-thank you.”

The Spider-Man looked at her, and she felt he was smiling. It was a strange notion to think that such a man could smile, but she supposed he had a heart somewhere in there. Why else would he strive to save one such as she?

“Rest easy, kid,” he told her, touching her hand gently. “We’re gonna make sure you’re right as rain.”

The strange girl came into her view once again, holding the device up. “This is cell reconstruction serum. It’ll heal you faster than any medicine in this time period. It also has heavy painkillers, to make you sleep easier.”

The girl could not even begin to wonder what she meant by time periods, so she was still as the other girl brought the device to one of the few patches of skin left undamaged by the Nazis. There was a small pinch, and it was over. The strange girl stepped back, tapping a device on her wrist and hovering it over the length of her body.

“Will it work?” the Spider-Man asked.

“Yup!” the strange girl replied. “Reconstruction has already begun. It’ll be a week or two, but she’ll be okay in the end.”

The girl felt herself getting drowsy. She smiled at the two, hoping they knew just how thankful she was for their compassion as she drifted off into a painless sleep.

 

“She’s asleep,” Peni said shortly after the girl’s eyes fluttered shut.

“Good.” Noir surveyed her heavily-bandaged form with a heavy sigh. “The more sleep she gets, the better.”

At that moment, they heard the voices of nurses down the hallway, which was their cue to exit. Noir swung Peni up onto his back, hopping out the window and climbing the wall till they reached the roof.

“Thanks for doin’ that, doll,” he said over his shoulder as he walked to the other side of the roof in preparation to swing home. “It means a lot.”

“Of course,” Peni said. “Not only does it help her, but it takes the weight of her survival off your shoulders.”

“And you said _I_ have a big heart,” Noir huffed.

“You do,” Peni said, “And don’t you ever be afraid to show it.”


End file.
